Taxes are not driving the wealthy away from NYC: report

From left: 15 Central Park West, Time Warner Center and The Plaza Hotel

A new report suggests that New York’s tax burden is not heavy enough to make the wealthy flee the city and state just yet.

The city’s Independent Budget Office reported on Monday that the share of high-income households that moved out of the five boroughs in 2012 was equal to the share of low-income households that left, the New York Times reported. Earners at both the top and bottom of the spectrum saw 1.8 percent of their populations pick up and head out.

Of those New York City households making $500,000 or more that did move, most stayed nearby in areas with similar tax levels, according to data cited by the paper. Other parts of the state absorbed 42 percent of them, while New Jersey took in 22 percent and Connecticut welcomed 12 percent.

In fact, the study showed that more on-the-move families who made less than $500,000 headed to low-tax Florida: 10 percent versus 2 percent of wealthy outbound New Yorkers, reported the Times. Texas, another state known for low taxes, took in the same percentage of rich and not-so-rich Gothamites. [NYT] – Tom DiChristopher